FEATURE | Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz is the key to Germany’s World Cup hopes | OneFootball

There was a time not too long ago when Germany repeatedly went into major tournaments as the bookmakers’ favourites to lift the trophy.

However, you have to go back to 2014 to find the last time the Germans won the World Cup. They haven’t won the European Championship since 1996.

In simple terms, their aura of invincibility has vanished. Germany are still one of the big guns in world football, but they no longer win silverware.

German manager thumbs his nose at the critics

The 2026 World Cup offers Germany a shot at redemption. They qualified for the tournament with a dominant 6-0 win over Slovakia in Leipzig, but that did not tell the whole story.

A qualification group which also contained Northern Ireland and Luxembourg should have been a breeze for Germany, but they made hard work of it.

They were defeated by Slovakia in their opening game, before rattling off five consecutive wins. Unfortunately, most of their performances were underwhelming.

Germany have looked vulnerable from set-pieces and struggle to consistently create chances. They are shaky when teams hit them with pace on the counter-attack.

While those factors are collectively enough to raise concerns about Germany’s chance of winning the World Cup, it would be foolish to think everything is doom and gloom.

Manager Julian Nagelsmann has been criticised for some of his team selections, particularly where Angelo Stiller and Tom Bischof are concerned.

He chose Leroy Sané and Leon Goretzka ahead of that pair for the Slovakia game, triggering a widespread meltdown amongst German fans.

However, the duo justified the decision as Germany produced their best performance in the qualifiers. The manager had plenty of other reasons to be pleased.

They include Newcastle United striker Nick Woltenmade, who has given Germany the cutting edge they have sorely lacked in recent years.

Nagelsmann still has work to do before next summer, but his team will head to North America with a genuine chance of lifting the prestigious trophy.

Wirtz can be the catalyst for German success

Florian Wirtz has struggled to make his mark for Liverpool since completing his big-money transfer from Bayer Leverkusen last summer.

Pundits have been quick to get stuck into the 22-year-old, but Nagelsmann was eager to defend him ahead of the game against Slovakia.

“Liverpool could also help him out by scoring some of the chances he creates,” Nagelsmann said. “They somehow don’t like to shoot the ball in.

“The whole club isn’t as stable this year as it was last year. It’s much harder to slip into the team now.

“If you look at the game against [Manchester] City, they were actually the worse team over the ninety minutes. It’s difficult for Flo to make a big impact.

“Ultimately, the overall situation is such that he just needs a little more time, which is normal – you see that with other players who move to the Premier League too.”

Wirtz immediately repaid his manager’s faith with a stellar performance against Slovakia. He suddenly looked like the player Liverpool hoped they had signed. 

Naysayers may argue that it was ‘only Slovakia’, yet that position can easily be blown out of the water by recalling events at the 2024 European Championship.

England needed two stoppage time goals to see them off in the round of 16 and have never defeated them by more than a one-goal margin in a competitive fixture.

Wirtz’s display against Slovakia highlighted why his struggles at Liverpool can primarily be attributed to the people around him.

They include Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, who have been a shadow of their former selves since signing contract extensions with the club.

Liverpool’s other new signings have also failed to hit the ground running, yet none of them are scrutinised to the same level as Wirtz.

German media outlet Bild is no doubt where the blame for Wirtz’s struggles at Liverpool lie, delivering a withering assessment of Salah’s contribution.

“It’s noticeable that he’s overlooked Wirtz and hasn’t made any of the other summer signings, who together cost around half a billion Euros, shine,” they wrote.

“Salah has provided three assists this season, all of which led to goals, all for players who have been with the club longer. Salah is increasingly becoming a major problem for Liverpool and Wirtz!”

While that character assassination may be a little extreme, it is hard not to think there is some merit to those views given how Wirtz played against Slovakia.

Regardless of what happens at Liverpool for the rest of the season, Germany will be contenders to win the World Cup if Wirtz keeps shining for them.

GGFN | Zach Lowy